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Build vs Buy AI Agents

Every company considering AI agents faces this decision: build in-house or hire a team? Here’s an honest breakdown of costs, timelines, and trade-offs to help you decide.

Build In-House
Hire GammaEdge
Time to first agent
3–6 months (hiring + building)
Weeks (we scope and build)
Upfront cost
$150K–$400K/yr (2–3 ML engineers)
Starts at $499/mo
LLM flexibility
Whatever your team knows
Any LLM — OpenAI, Anthropic, open-source, BYOK
Deployment options
Depends on team capability
Cloud, private, or on-prem
Ongoing maintenance
Your team’s responsibility
Fully managed by us
Scaling
Hire more engineers
We scale with you
Domain expertise
Learning curve
6+ years of production AI
Risk
High — new hire, new tech
Low — proven process, clear ROI

When to Build In-House

  • You have a strong ML team that’s underutilized
  • AI is your core product, not a support function
  • You need complete control over every line of code
  • You have 6+ months before you need results

When to Work With GammaEdge

  • You need an AI agent live in weeks, not months
  • You don’t want to hire and manage an ML team
  • You need deployment flexibility — BYOK, private, on-prem
  • You want someone accountable for outcomes, not just deliverables
  • You’re in a regulated industry (healthcare, finance) and need compliance expertise

The GammaEdge Approach

We’re not a platform you subscribe to. We’re engineers who build custom agents on your infrastructure, with your data, using the best LLM for your use case.

  • Fully managed
  • BYOK supported
  • On-prem deployment
  • Any industry
  • Ongoing optimization

Frequently Asked Questions

Can we start with GammaEdge and bring it in-house later?

Yes. We build on your infrastructure and can transfer knowledge to your team. No lock-in.

What if we already have some AI capability?

Great. We can augment your team, handle specific agents, or take over the parts that are slowing you down.

How do you handle data privacy?

Your data stays on your infrastructure. We support on-prem deployment and BYOK — you control everything.

What’s the minimum commitment?

Monthly plans, no lock-in. Cancel anytime. We’d rather earn your business every month.

Still Not Sure? Let's Talk.

Book a 30-minute call with our team. No pitch deck, no pressure — just an honest conversation about whether we're the right fit.

Book a Demo